As a Congress committee allegedly prepares to criticise the CIA over WMDs in Iraq, ‘BBC state department correspondent Jon Leyne says the committee report is a clear attempt by the Republicans to shift blame from the White House and on to the intelligence community. ‘ The BBC rolls out a correspondent and shows a certainty that I’ve rarely come across in one of its reports. Where were they when Mahathir … Continue reading →

From BBConline: CLINTON BROKERS LANDMARK AIDS DEAL Bush signs $15bn anti-aids plan Coincidental headlines/ subheadlines to put up the same morning? Interesting contrast? If you read the articles, one casts doubt on the other [Maybe I should clarify. What’s interesting is the way Bob Geldolf’s contrast between Clinton and Bush is undermined. Now, Geldof is anti-Euro, pro- Neo-Conservative, according to his recorded comments, which is rather unlike the BBC. This … Continue reading →

is BBC Radio Scotland’s flagship morning news programme. The Friday 24th October edition carried an article about how Network Rail is to assume control of routine maintenance contracts from private contractors. During the article, which was a conversation between the news ‘anchor’ Alex Bell and the BBC Transport Correspondent Tom Simons, the BBC got a chance to show it’s economic illiteracy. BELL: “I suppose that costs will be reduced because … Continue reading →

Thanks to Dan’s vigorous comments on a recent thread, I’ve focussed on this report by James Reynolds on Israel’s recent air strike on a car in the Nusseirat refugee camp. ‘Israel denies targeting Gaza civilians’ This misrepresents the case: whether Israel struck regardless of a crowd of civilians. Few, including witness accounts, doubt that Israel attacked a car (containing terrorists, the Israelis say) rather than a crowd. Note though that … Continue reading →

The BBC finds doubting Don Rumsfeld guilty…of doing his job. Virginia Postrel’s skewering of USA Today applies equally well to the BBC (ever faithful to the party line). Via InstaPundit. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

Never let it be said that the BBC failed to start or join an unhealthy media bandwagon. Via Andrew Sullivan. latest offering from soon-to-retire-but-still-influential-and-dangerous-for-God’s-sake- Mahathir, courtesy of the BBC. Bandwagon Alert Extra See how they paved the way for another bandwagon with an article scrutinised by Natalie Solent and Kerry Buttram on BBBC around the 22nd September this year. (scroll down) Click through to read and contribute comments on this … Continue reading →

‘Moonbat’ Mahathir is still lurking at BBConline. His nickname, mind you, goes unreported. Earlier I criticised the lack of editorial comment on Mahathir’s recent comments. This case remains. The fact is that over several days, in several reports, the BBC has not devoted one of its ‘experts’ to examining let alone condemning the racism and militarism of this man. It has not slipped in a correspondent to talk of possible … Continue reading →

This article states that 25% of people surveyed by the ITC thought that, among others, BBC1 was biased towards the US/UK. Funnily enough, page 27 of the report seems to imply that 21% thought the BBC was biased against the UK/US and biased towards the anti-war lobby (total – for some reason the pro-US camp is a single answer whereas the anti-US camp for want of a better word is … Continue reading →

Does Rob Watson have insider knowledge on how the next US presidential election will turn out for Bush? In his giddy report of President Bush’s meeting with the California governor-elect Watson states the following: Apparently, in his Terminator days, Mr Schwarzenegger had campaigned for the president’s father – also of course a one-time president (emphasis added). Watson also seems a little confused on Bush’s current state of being. There was … Continue reading →

[an altered headline] They’re at it again. Today’s dish of the day is lightly boiled American General with a garnish of Rumsfeld. There’s also a touch of sauce, rendered piquant by irony. They hope you’ll enjoy the dish, which has been placed initially on the main menu to ensure that plenty of customers get to try it. The irony? Ah, bien sur! It’s a secret blend of bitterness that yesterday … Continue reading →

picked by the BBC to profile in order to given an impression of daily life in Iraq. Or was she? Darren Kaplan dug a little deeper. (Via Instapundit.) Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

. As Ed Thomas prophesied in the posting below, the headline to Mahathir’s anti-semitic rant story on BBCi has now been altered. Norman Geras couldn’t help but notice some plasticity on this one too. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.

[Nb.- since this post, editing has begun to the story. Kofi Annan, for instance, makes an appearance, and his contribution is very interesting. Imagine the report without this and you are close(r) to the original. No doubt this process will continue, but I’m sure my comments won’t be assauged by further edits. Watch out for a headline change- that really would be news. [1.17pm UK. Here’s the latest- bye, bye, … Continue reading →

This piece on the growing recognition of the need for Thatcherite reforms in Germany, prompted one of our correspondents, John Perry, to ask if the BBC or Labour MP Gisela Stuart knew their German history. The story says: “Ms Stuart suggested that the liberal economic policies pursued in the 1960s by chancellor Ludwig Erhard might be one solution” As our correspondent observes, Erhard’s reforms did indeed trigger the “German economic … Continue reading →

Amazingly this story fails to mention where the Egyptian twins received their life-extending surgery, though a small hint of the location is dropped in the medical history window. It’s hard to imagine this is a mere oversight since the article later makes much of an “Italy success” to separate conjoined twins. Other national references mentioned in the story include: Egypt, Greece, a “French news agency”, “Guatamalan twins”, “Iranians”, Singapore. This … Continue reading →